Second Amendment Plan

When the Founding Fathers ratified the Bill of Rights on December 15th, 1791, they included the Second Amendment to ensure every American had “the right… to keep and bear Arms.” They went on to affirm that this right “shall not be infringed.” For more than 200 years, sportsmen, hunters, and lawful gun owners have embraced our Second Amendment rights, which we all share as Americans.

As a Constitutional Conservative, one of my top priorities throughout my time in public service has been to preserve and uphold this sacred right. During my time in the New York State Assembly, I strongly opposed the NY SAFE Act and led the charge to repeal this law that infringed on the rights of all law-abiding gun owners. In Congress, I have continued to fight against the Biden and Hochul administrations’ attempts to criminalize legal gun ownership and infringe on our Constitutional rights. In 2022, I led an amicus brief co-signed by 175 of my colleagues urging the Supreme Court to rule in NYSRPA v. Bruen that New York’s concealed carry law was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court agreed with my arguments, and Justice Clarence Thomas even cited them in his decision. NYSRPA v. Bruen was the most significant Second Amendment win in over a decade and it represents a major step in restoring our founders’ vision for our constitutional rights.

I will always fight against any efforts to infringe on our Second Amendment rights through new, unnecessary regulations that seek only to criminalize law-abiding citizens instead of keeping our communities safe. My plan will build on the progress achieved by NYSRPA v. Bruen by forcefully opposing efforts by Democrats in Albany and Washington to infringe on our Constitutional rights and regulate gun ownership out of existence. It also works to build upon existing efforts to safeguard our Second Amendment rights for generations to come.

Combating Governor Hochul’s Anti-Second Amendment Agenda

• Introduced H.Res. 45, Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that New York State’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act is unconstitutional: This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the CCIA is unconstitutional and that the courts should immediately strike down the CCIA. After the Supreme Court struck down New York’s Sullivan Law in NYSRPA v. Bruen, Albany Democrats violated the decision by passing the CCIA, an even more outrageous law. The CCIA, among other things, requires concealed carry permit applicants to turn over their personal social media accounts, mandates interviews with state officials, and broadly bans the concealed carry of weapons in a range of public and private locations. Once again, I am leading the charge to have this unconstitutional law struck down.
• Cosponsored H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act: This bill would ensure all states that allow concealed carry, such as New York, maintain reciprocity with other states with concealed carry permits. This would allow New York residents to maintain their concealed carry rights in almost every other state and visitors from other states to maintain their concealed carry rights while traveling.
• Cosponsored H.R. 3492, the GRIP Act: This legislation prohibits states and localities from using federal funding to store sensitive, personal information obtained during a federal background check. Under current law, the federal government cannot store information acquired during the firearms background process. The GRIP Act would ensure the federal government does not support any efforts by New York State to collect and store personally identifiable information related to legal firearm purchases and ownership. Gunowners should not have to permanently sacrifice their privacy or risk identity theft for simply exercising their Second Amendment constitutional right.
• Cosponsored H.R. 9260, the Freedom from Unfair Gun Taxes Act: This bill would prohibit states from levying any additional excise taxes on firearms or ammunition. Excise taxes are frequently levied on goods like cigarettes or alcohol, however states should not be levying additional financial burdens on law-abiding gunowners exercising their Second Amendment rights. California has already levied an additional 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition, and New York could soon follow.

Stopping the Biden Administration’s Gun Grab

• Cosponsored H.R. 1271, the No REGISTRY Rights Act: This bill prevents the federal government from building a federal firearms registry by requiring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to delete all existing firearm transaction records accumulated by the ATF. The bill would also require Federal Firearm Licensees (FFLs) to destroy their firearm transaction records once they go out of business, ensuring the ATF cannot accumulate these records. The ATF has no business maintaining a digital, searchable database of law-abiding gun owners that could be used for future gun confiscation. 
• Cosponsored H.J.Res. 44, the Pistol Brace CRA: This act would repeal the ATF’s unconstitutional pistol brace rule. In 2012, pistol stabilizing braces were created to help disabled individuals, including many veterans, better stabilize their pistols while shooting. Now, over a decade later, the Biden Administration is abusing the National Firearms Act to arbitrarily declare pistols with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles (SBRs), which is clearly out of line with the law. Even the Obama Administration’s ATF ruled that pistols with stabilizing braces are not SBRs. These onerous new requirements could lead to otherwise lawful gun owners facing up to 10 years in jail and thousands of dollars in fines if they don’t register pistols with stabilizing braces with the ATF. This CRA would overturn this ridiculous new rule and protect the Second Amendment rights of disabled Americans.
• Cosponsored H.Res.1267, Supporting the Second Amendment's guarantee that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, and opposing the Biden administration's efforts to undermine that guarantee at every opportunity: The Biden-Harris administration has been the most anti-Second Amendment administration in American history. During their tenure, multiple anti-Second Amendment executive orders and rules have been signed and implemented targeting legal gun-owners, including the redefining of a pistol brace and a rule impeding gun collectors’ ability to sell their firearms. Additionally, under the Biden-Harris administration, the Bureau of Industry and Security has prohibited commercial firearm export licenses without any justification. This important resolution calls out the Biden-Harris administration’s anti-Second Amendment agenda and makes it clear that this is unacceptable and unconstitutional. 

Upholding the Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners

• Introduced H.R.962, the Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act: This legislation modifies federal bankruptcy law to allow an individual debtor to exempt from their bankruptcy estate one or more firearms up to a total maximum value of $3,000. No American should ever have to sacrifice their constitutional rights because of their financial situation. The Second Amendment is a constitutional right for all Americans, including those experiencing financial hardship. I am honored to lead this important legislation that protects the rights of gun owners everywhere, no matter their financial situation.
• Cosponsored H.R 4860, the PROTECT the 2nd Amendment Act: This legislation ensures that residents living in federally-assisted housing may lawfully possess firearms. This commonsense legislation would ensure that landlords and rental property managers receiving federal funds and vouchers cannot restrict the constitutional rights of their tenants. The federal government should always stand in favor of individual’s Second Amendment rights, and allowing federal housing to restrict this right is unconscionable.
• Cosponsored H.R 8364, the Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act: Under current federal law, individuals cannot purchase firearms from licensed dealers and manufacturers who do not reside in the same state as the individual. This bill would repeal this antiquated requirement and allow firearms to be sold across state lines and would redefine residency to allow members of the Armed Forces to purchase firearms from their home states.
• Cosponsored H.R 7873, the Firearm Due Process Protection Act: In 2018, Congress passed the Fix NICS Act, which allows individuals to appeal if information in the NICS system is incorrect. However, this process did not allow for any private right of action to enforce this requirement. This bill would allow individuals to seek court orders to correct false information in the NICS system if the FBI does not act within the statutory two-month window. 
• Cosponsored H.R 7195, the Protecting the Mailing of Firearms Act: Despite the US Postal Service’s (USPS) ability to ship long guns, current law prohibits USPS from shipping handguns. While common carriers, such as FedEx and UPS, can ship handguns, the USPS is barred from doing so. This antiquated law dates back to the early 1900s and is long past overdue for repeal. This bill would simply repeal this law and prohibit the Postmaster General from implementing any rule that would interfere with USPS’ ability to ship handguns.